Month: June 2023

BOULDER, Colo., June 14, 2023 /3BL Media/ – RMI announces FedEx and General Motors (GM) will each provide catalytic grant funding to drive innovative and equitable transportation infrastructure solutions at scale. Tackling the climate challenge requires speed and equitable implementation. The programs RMI, FedEx, and GM are collaborating on will focus on advancing research into electrification strategies and solution development from electric grid planning to EV charging infrastructure access. This primarily includes identifying EV charging solutions for residents of multi-family housing— streamlining the process to equitably deploy public and household EV charging—and building advanced grid planning tools to empower utilities and grid operators to effectively plan and invest in EV infrastructure.

“In this decisive decade, our efforts to mitigate the effects of climate change and electrify global transportation systems will be critical,” said Jon Creyts, RMI’s CEO. “To make this a reality, we’ll need radical collaboration between the private and public sectors and bold companies like FedEx and GM. Through their leadership and support of RMI, FedEx and GM demonstrate the proactive role corporations can play in accelerating the transition needed to help create a clean, prosperous, and zero-carbon future for all.”

As EV adoption continues to grow, there is an urgent need to build out significant grid infrastructure, including production and transmission, to meet the electricity demand from vehicles of all types. It’s also critical that charging infrastructure strategies be developed and implemented equitably, to ensure all communities reap the benefits of the energy transition.

However, there is a lack of research to inform the complex and dispersed decisions and investments needed. RMI’s deep analysis will help community stakeholders understand where charging deserts exist and predict EV power needs at the census-block level, arming decision makers with the information to quickly, effectively, and confidently upgrade the grid to meet increasing demands and equitably deploy accessible charging infrastructure.

This announcement reflects both companies’ commitments to accelerating transportation electrification: FedEx is working towards transforming its entire parcel pickup and delivery fleet to zero-tailpipe emissions vehicles by 2040, as part of its efforts to reach carbon neutral operations by the same year. GM has also committed to making its global operations and products carbon neutral by 2040. In June of 2022, FedEx had received its first 150 electric vehicles (EVs) from GM subsidiary BrightDrop and has since taken delivery of more than 400 units total.

“Fleet electrification is a key pillar of the FedEx roadmap to carbon neutral operations by 2040 and our commitment to deliver a more sustainable future for all,” said Mitch Jackson, FedEx Chief Sustainability Officer. “Our strategic investment in RMI’s research and their rigorous analysis of charging and grid infrastructure will provide key players in the electrification ecosystem with information needed to support a wide-scale transition to EVs.”

“GM envisions a world with zero crashes, zero emissions and zero congestion and we are committed to equitable climate action as we transition to an all-electric future,” says Kristen Siemen, Chief Sustainability Officer of GM. “Our continued support of RMI through GM’s Climate Fund aims to accelerate and expand access to EV charging infrastructure, closing equity gaps in the transition to electric vehicles and driving change at the community level.”

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About RMI

RMI is an independent nonprofit founded in 1982 that transforms global energy systems through market-driven solutions to align with a 1.5°C future and secure a clean, prosperous, zero-carbon future for all. We work in the world’s most critical geographies and engage businesses, policymakers, communities, and NGOs to identify and scale energy system interventions that will cut greenhouse gas emissions at least 50 percent by 2030. RMI has offices in Basalt and Boulder, Colorado; New York City; Oakland, California; Washington, D.C.; and Beijing.

About FedEx Corp.

FedEx Corp. (NYSE: FDX) provides customers and businesses worldwide with a broad portfolio of transportation, e-commerce and business services. With annual revenue of $93 billion, the company offers integrated business solutions through operating companies competing collectively, operating collaboratively and innovating digitally as one FedEx. Consistently ranked among the world’s most admired and trusted employers, FedEx inspires its more than 530,000 employees to remain focused on safety, the highest ethical and professional standards and the needs of their customers and communities. FedEx is committed to connecting people and possibilities around the world responsibly and resourcefully, with a goal to achieve carbon-neutral operations by 2040. To learn more, please visit fedex.com/about.

About General Motors

General Motors (NYSE:GM) is a global company focused on advancing an all-electric future that is inclusive and accessible to all. At the heart of this strategy is the Ultium battery platform, which powers everything from mass-market to high-performance vehicles. General Motors, its subsidiaries and its joint venture entities sell vehicles under the Chevrolet, Buick, GMC, Cadillac, Baojun and Wuling brands. More information on the company and its subsidiaries, including OnStar, a global leader in vehicle safety and security services, can be found at https://www.gm.com.

To show support for the LGBTQ+ community, more than 100 employees from AEG’s Southern California business divisions including AXS, AEG Presents, Goldenvoice, Dignity Health Sports Park, the LA Kings and the LA Galaxy,joined LA Kings Alumni Daryl Evans, LA Kings mascot Bailey, and LA Galaxy mascot Cozmo to march in the 2023 LA Pride Parade in Los Angeles, CA on Sunday, June 11.

Employees met on the corner of Sunset Blvd and Highland Blvd in Hollywood, CA, adorned in AEG Pride themed t-shirts, hats and other creative attire. Along the one-mile parade, route employees carried pride themed flags and banners and handed out Pride flags, pins and hats to spectators.

Adding flair to the festivities, AEG, AEG Presents, LA Kings and LA Galaxy had a co-branded float themed in rainbow colors and disco balls that featured a DJ, dancers and rappers. Float participants were organized by employees from Goldenvoice who oversee its Queer+ initiative which archives, celebrates and empowers the BIPOC LGBTQ+ community.

“We are so proud to be a continued sponsor of the Los Angeles Pride Parade,” said Chantel Diaz, DE&I Business Partner at AEG Presents and a member of AEG’s Pride Parade planning committee. “We are out here to uplift the voices of the LGBTQ+ community and to celebrate love, equality and representation.”

The 2023 LA Pride Icon Grand Marshall was media, actor and activist Margaret Cho who greeted parade watchers from atop the parade’s main float. The theme for this year’s parade was “All Out With Pride,” which served as a reminder to everyone to be the change they would like to see in the world. LA Pride is one of the largest Pride parades in the U.S. and the 2023 event was attended by over 140,000 people.

Originally published on Built From Scratch

Within The Home Depot, there is a large group of eco-conscious associates. They call themselves the Sustainability Squad, and they are living proof that Eco Actions make a difference. They are living a DIY sustainability lifestyle.

We sat down with members of the Sustainability Squad to learn more about their inspiration, motivation, and their individual Eco Actions.

Christopher Kelley is an Asset Protection Auditor at the Perris, CA, Direct Fulfillment Center and has been a member of The Home Depot community for nearly six years. Recently, the Home Depot’s Eco Actions social media community featured Christopher’s posts about his home succulent garden. Here’s Christopher’s thoughts on sustainability and succulents.

“The Sustainability Squad made me want to do more. In my backyard, have a couple of roses and several birds of paradise, but I actually want to create a bigger space to plant more succulents in the backyard.”

– Christopher Kelley

How did you get involved with the Sustainability Squad?

I believe it was on Yammer. I love participating in the community and sharing where I’ve incorporated the values [of The Home Depot] into my life. I was just in the midst of changing my home’s entire landscape with succulents to help better the environment. I’ve seen a lot of individuals posting on Eco Action’s Yammer community, showing how they were doing things to help and sustain our environment. I wanted to join in and do my part as a Home Depot associate, just living our values.

Why succulents?

I chose succulent plants like aloe vera because they grow very easily and quickly, and they’re easy to obtain. They don’t use a lot of water, so we don’t have to water them every single day. And you still have a nice-looking yard.

Do you have any tips for succulent planters? What should people know before they get into succulents?

I would recommend going to Home Depot and getting aloe vera plants. As they grow, you can replant them in a bigger area. After my plants outgrew their pot, I planted them in the ground, and they expanded from there. All the aloe vera plants I have currently came from four small, one-liter plant boxes. Here’s my pro tip: If you need plant food, you can use spoiled milk once a month. If I have milk that’s going bad, instead of throwing it out, I add water to it and pour it on the plant, and it turns into plant food.

Click here to read Chris’ full Q&A

Danielle Gadberry lives in Kansas, where she is a Pro Account Expediter for The Home Depot’s PSC. Danielle has taken action to eliminate plastic waste in her home. Her Eco Actions include switching to shampoo and dish soap in bar form to making her own cleaning products. But Danielle’s most impressive and creative Eco Actions is no doubt her crocheted, reusable market and produce bags. Danielle makes plarn (plastic yarn) out of plastic bags and uses it to crochet bags and mats for her own use and to donate to local homeless shelters.

“I’m interested in finding ways to reduce our carbon footprint and take that next step for the next generation. So, I made a conscious effort at the beginning of this year to reduce as much waste as possible.”

– Danielle Gadberry

When did you first decide to reduce plastics in your life? Was it difficult to transition away from single-use plastics? 

I consider myself a very ecofriendly person. I grew up on a farm, and my mom was all about recycling. We reused everything and even composted. Now that I’m an adult, I see the impact I have on the world. Now that I have my own money, I see that I can really make a difference – just myself and my family. But in the past year, I’ve made more of a conscious effort to become more ecofriendly. I’m interested in finding ways to reduce our carbon footprint and take that next step for the next generation.

So, I made a conscious effort at the beginning of this year to reduce as much waste as possible. And it’s nice to not have so many plastic bottles sitting under my sink because I’ve switched a lot of my household cleaning products to vinegar, water and essential oils. I’ve switched to concentrated dish soap. And I use shampoo and conditioner bars.

Click here to read Danielle’s full Q&A 

Michael Parent is based in Toledo, OH, where he is the Department Supervisor for five departments. Michael and his family have turned their backyard into an urban farm, where they grow food and teach neighborhood children about native plants and wildlife.

“We like the idea of our kids being able to walk through the backyard and grab an apple off the tree or being able to pick asparagus for dinner.”

– Michael Parent

Your family’s urban farm is impressive. Can you tell us a bit about your family and your farm? 

My wife Tonya and I have five children: three boys and two girls. They range in age from 10 all the way up to 23. We live in the suburbs of Toledo, and we have an urban farm in our backyard. It’s been really fun to explore what can be done on a half-acre in a suburb!

Our farm is a group effort for my family, but my wife is the brains of the operation. She’s a very smart woman who loves research. So, our farm is a decade in the making – between her research into the different plants that work well together, and us learning which plants offer the best output for our space. We have tried to optimize our yard so that every inch brings something to the table.  

Our vision is to have what is called a food forest, where you essentially make a small forest out of various perennial foods and supporting plants. And if it isn’t food, or it doesn’t help the food grow, it isn’t in there. We like the idea of our kids being able to walk through the backyard and grab an apple off the tree or being able to pick asparagus for dinner. We want our kids and their friends to be able to sit out under our gazebo and snack on whatever is around them.

Where did the idea for an urban farm originate, and how has it evolved? 

You know, urban farming is nothing new. People have been doing it for a long time, but we really got the idea for this from our church, which is in an urban area and has a huge community garden. And I mean huge! The network that created it included local farmers, other community gardens nearby and neighbors. We were part of it and learned so much. We thought, ‘We can do this at home.’ And not only can we do it at home, but we can also support our family and maybe even create enough abundance where we can start giving back to the community as well. So, that’s our long-term goal.

But it’s been years and years of reading people’s books, their stories, and their experiments and methods. Then we began implementing it and doing things in our own way. But mostly we started just like everybody else does – experimenting with little backyard gardens. We planted a lot to see what would grow. And then it just starts to grow itself, and before you know it, you’re just covered in plants everywhere.

We got serious when COVID hit. Because there’s a lot of us, we knew we needed to come up with more sustainable ways to live and supplement our grocery budget. It was then that we put in a makeshift greenhouse with a little garden around it. Now we have two greenhouses. We’re kind of upgrading as we go and growing just like any other entity would.

We are very entrepreneurial about our farm. For example, we brought on chickens during COVID, but now we are phasing them out. When you consider the amount of room they require, and what you get from them, the return on investment for chickens isn’t as high as fruit trees. Plus, the little flock we have are more pets than food. So, we’re just letting them live their best life.

Click here to read Michael’s full Q&A 

These interviews were originally published on Eco Actions website. Click here for more #SustainabilitySquad storytelling and visit here to learn more about The Home Depot’s commitment to sustainability.  

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June 14, 2023 /3BL Media/ – A new version of the Disability in Sustainability Reporting guide has been launched by Disability Hub Europe (DHUB), which takes account of recent changes in sustainability reporting, including the 2021 update to the GRI Universal Standards. The guide seeks to help companies fully incorporate disability issues in their reporting and highlight practices to include persons with disabilities throughout the value chain.

DHUB, a multi-stakeholder engagement initiative co-funded by the European Social Fund, has revised the guide in collaboration with GRI and Fundación ONCE. It will support organizations to understand how GRI reporting can be a basis for disclosing their impacts, positive or negative, on the rights of persons with disabilities.

The publication addresses the role of business in strengthening disability inclusion, in the context of sustainable development, while providing technical guidance on how relevant disclosures in the GRI Standards can be applied.

Harold Pauwels, GRI Director of Standards, said:

“Access to information and essential services for people with disabilities has been further limited during the pandemic, highlighting the need to address barriers to accessibility and inclusion in all areas. Therefore, we are pleased to be able to contribute to this guide from DHUB. 

The publication will help companies gain visibility and prominence in disability and non-discrimination, which in turn will foster a more inclusive and sustainable business environment. Ultimately, we want to support companies to utilise their impact reporting through the GRI Standards to promote inclusion and respect for persons with disabilities.”

Carla Bonino, Sustainability Lead at Fundación ONCE and DHUB Coordinator, added:

“Our updated ‘Disability in Sustainability Reporting’ guide will help organizations and companies navigate the recent multiple significant advancements in sustainability reporting, most notably GRI´s recent update of its Universal Standards. The use of the guide can be an opportunity to develop more disability-inclusive organizations and have a positive impact on the rights of persons with disabilities, in a moment of increasing importance of human rights in the whole value chain”. 

Updating content from the previous version in 2019, the new version of Disability in Sustainability Reporting:

Reflects important changes in the GRI Universal Standards, including the increased focus on human rights impacts;Best positions companies to respond to developments in the sustainability reporting landscape, such as the EU Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD);Aligns with the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, to ensure ‘no one is left behind’ in the process of innovation and sustainability.

Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) is the independent, international organization that helps businesses and other organizations take responsibility for their impacts, by providing the global common language to report those impacts. The GRI Standards are the world’s most widely used sustainability reporting standards, which are developed through a multi-stakeholder process and provided as a free public good.